Lost in the Midnight
by greenleafeon
Summary: Evryponey knows that Princess Luna turned into Nightmare Moon, But few actually know why. Take a look into the royal sisters cryptic past, and discover the truth.
1. Chapter 1 The Beginning

Things have changed so much. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by this though, I have been gone for a thousand years. But to me, it feels like days. I have missed so much while I was gone. The people of Equestria have changed so much as well. Many have forgotten that I was not always filled with such hatred and anger. That is why I am telling this story, to help people see that I was happy and good before I became what I did, but also to tell why I became what I did. I am Princess Luna, and this is the story of how I became nightmare moon.

"Papa! Papa! Can I watch you raise the moon tonight?" I called as I galloped to catch up with him.  
He stopped and turned around. As soon as he saw me, a big smile lit up his face.

"Of course you can sweetie. Does your sister want to watch too?"

"Tia is already asleep, she wanted to help Mamma with the sun tomorrow." I stated.

"It can be just you and me then squirt." He said as he ruffled my mane with his hoof. "Hay, tell you what, you can even help me with the stars tonight."

"Woohoo!" I did a loop de loop in the air, then followed daddy to the taris that Mamma and Papa raise and lower the sun and moon. It looked out over the everfree forest where our castle was built. Despite its wildness and fearsome reputation, it was quite beautiful. Mommy was already there lowering the sun below the horizon. She was the most beautiful pony ever and everypony loved her. She was so wise and kind and she cared about everypony.

"Another breath taking sunset my love, why don't you go get some rest now, I'll watch over the night as always."

Mamma walked over to Papa, a warm smile on her face and her crown sparkling in the fading light, they touched horns and said more mushy things, then she turned to me. "Helping your father with the moon I see."

"Yup! And Papa said I can even help him bring out the stars!" I said, barely able to contain my excitement.

"My my, what a big responsibility." She looked at me with soft eyes and sighed. "You are so much like your father."

Daddy smiled at that. "Well it's not hard to see where she gets her looks," he said with a chuckle.  
Mommy chuckled too. "Yes, it's true, you even look like your father, and already you share his love of the night."

"You shouldn't count yourself short, Sun Cast. It's not hard to see where Celestia got her looks and charm. She is like a miniature of yourself."  
"I think you may be right." She yawned. "Sorry I am not staying to watch you two bring on the night, but it has been a very long day for me, and I am exhausted."

Papa just looked at Mamma. "My Love, you have already done plenty today. We can manage. You go get some rest now."

Mamma's face softened and she smiled lovingly. "Oh, Silver Moon, how did I ever get lucky enough to have a husband as wonderful as you."

"Who says you are the lucky one. If anything I am lucky to have you." They embraced one last time, then Mamma flew up to the castle to rest. After Mamma was out of sight looking at me excitedly. "Are you ready to do this?" He said excitedly. Even though he was the king, he still acted a bit like a little colt sometimes.

"Yeah!" I exclaimed, practically dancing with anticipation.

"Alright then, watch me, then we can bring out the stars." His horn started to glow an indigo color with magical aura as he started to perform the spell to raise the moon.

"What! Can I please try to raise the moon? I have been practicing my magic a lot. Can I, can I Pleeeeeese!"

Papa grinned at me. "This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with your sister getting her cutie mark, would it?"

"Hehe, maybe," I said Coyly as I looked at my blank flank. I looked back up at him with pleading eyes. "l really think I can do it though. Please oh please Papa, can I try?"

"Well who can say no to that face! Very well. If you think that you can do it, then give it a shot."

"Ok." I concentrated as my horn began to glow with magic. I cast the spell, and I felt the moon start to move. I tried harder, and harder, and it moved more. Finally It peeked over the horizon. I put everything I had Into the spell, and it slowly rose, but I still was not able to get it very high.

"Here, let me help you." Papa cast the spell too, and together we lifted the moon high in the sky.

"I did it! I did it!" I shouted with joy. I was so excited when the moon take its place in the sky. I looked around us, taking in everything. I couldn't remember a more beautiful night, and I couldn't help but feel overjoyed knowing I helped make it, and I just knew that this is what I wanted to do every day, or should I say, night.

Papa looked at me, a flash of surprise crossed his face, and then he smiled really big. "That's not the only thing you did tonight, look on your flank."

I froze, did this mean what I thought it meant? "Is it really there daddy? If you are teasing I'm going to be mad." I squeezed my eyes shut and slowly turned my head towards my flank, after a moment I opened my eyes again and it really was there! A crescent moon had appeared on my flank! . "Yay yay yay! I got my cutie mark! I got my cutie mark!" I shouted as I did another loop de loop in the air.

"Well done Luna, I'm very impressed, not many phillys can do magic that powerful, even if they are alacornes. Now let's get those stars up."

We worked for a little while longer to get all the stars up. I was still giddy from finally getting my cutie mark. When we were all done, daddy and I laid down on the taris to look at the beautiful night we made together.

"It's so beautiful daddy, I could just stay here all night." I looked at the beautiful moon for a while, then asked, "Daddy, why do ponies fear the night? How can anypony be afraid of something so beautiful?"

"You see Luna, it's not so much that ponies fear the night, it's what's in the night. There are many dangers in the night, and it is my duty to protect all the ponies from those dangers. Also, night time is a time for rest and rejuvenation. Much like the winter is for the land. There needs to be a balance. If there is no night there would be no time for your body to rest and restore itself. If there was no day, there could be no work done nor food grown. We all depend on that balance. If harmony is not maintained, then the equestria will fall into kaos. Do you understand?

"Yes Papa."

That was the night it all began, the day I discovered my true talent. It was one of the happiest days of my life, and also a pivotal one. That night, I made a silent vow to myself that one day, I would show everyone just how beautiful the night was.


	2. Chapter 2 Nights Get Lonelier

As the years rolled by, my sister and I got better at magic. We took responsibility for the night and day with increasing frequency, though our parents still did it most often. But even then, there was a tiny seed of jealousy and resentment in my heart trying to sprout and grow. And it would have if celestia weren't so kind and generous, especially to me. My sister was always more beloved by everyone, and even though she even to this day will not admit it, she has always been more talented and wise than I. And I seldom got recognition for my duties were as my older sister got praised constantly for hers. My sister was always better at making friends than I as well. I just felt out of place around ponies. No one seemed to share my interests and ideas, and it seemed no one was all that interested with getting to know me to begin with. So most times, I just remained silent unless directly spoken to, and I tended to just be alone. Most days, or nights I guess I should say, my only companions were the stars and moon. They were not much for talking, but they were always there when I was lonely, and I could always confide in them.

In the years following my discovery of my talent, my sister and I had little to do with ruling Equestria, until one fateful day when my parents went on a diplomatic visit to far northern Equestria. Everything changed after that.

_Clop clop clop clop, clop clop clop clop. _My hooves clacked against the stone floor as I galloped through the corridors of our castle. my mind was racing, "what is going on? what happened, Is everything alright?" I thought. as I approached the throne room. a note delivered to me moments ago said I needed to go to the throne room immediately, that something had happened, and that they needed to talk to me and my sister.

The royal guards opened the doors as I ran through. When I entered the room, Celestia was already there. As I looked around I saw Starswirl the Bearded, our magic instructor, and one of the most educated and talented ponies in all Equestria, as well as the most trusted advisor to the king and queen. He wore a grave expression and there was an air of bleakness that permeated the room.

"Welcome, princess Luna, thankyou for coming so quickly."

"Your welcome sir."

"Might I ask why you called us here on such short notice? Are we needed somewhere?" my sister asked. She was obviously just as confused as I was.

"No, no, nothing like that." he said slowly. "I promise you that this is of the utmost importance though."

"Then why are we here?" I asked growing more confused by the minute

He sighed and looked down. After a moment he looked up at us again, his eyes were full of sadness and grief. "As you know, your parents left to go oversee the coronation of the new prince of the Crystal Empire." He sighed again. My mind was spinning, not wanting him to say what I dreaded he would say. "I am so, so sorry," he said his voice suddenly husky with emotion. "We have had ponies looking for days. They never made it to the Crystal Empire, and no one has seen them since they crossed the borders to the north."

"No, no, no! It can't be true, they have to be out there." Tears began welling up in my eyes as I drew back. His words hitting me harder than any physical blow could.

"I am so sorry girls," he said. His voice stilI heavy with emotion. "I wish it wasn't true, but we "Papa, mama." I cried softly, it felt like ice water was running through my veins as the shock of it all set in. Celestia wasn't holding up much better than myself. Tears streamed down her face and into her pink hair. It looked like the only thing keeping her mostly together was sheer willpower.

"I can see you two need some time alone. We'll talk more later. Again, my deepest and most sincere condolences to the both of you." He exited the room, leaving us alone. Celestia and I just broke down and wept openly.

When we couldn't cry anymore, and had again received strength to stand, we went to out rooms to be alone for a while. Time seemed to slow down dramatically and passed in almost a nightmarish haze. Everything just seemed detached and unreal. Eventually the time came to rase the moon.

I walked slowly and numbly to Celestia's room and rapped lightly on her door with my horn. "Tia? Please, I know you're in there, Starswirl has been asking where you've been. I know this is hard for you, it's hard for me too, We have lost all of our kin. We only have each other, it's just you and me. What are we gonna do?" I choked back a sob. "Do you, want to see the moon rise?"

I could hear the quiet sobbs from behind the doors, but she said nothing. A tear slid down my cheek as I walked dejectedly to the taris where we raise the sun and moon, and performed my lonely duties. All the while, I couldn't help but remember that night, so many years ago, when my papa helped me raise the moon. after I was done, I just stayed their, thoughts of my parents flooding my mind. Fresh tears were streaming down my face as I weped anew. I just felt so utterly alone.

The next day, our parents death was announced, as well as our coronation. Celestia had been of age for the throne for only a few years, but I had only recently come of age.

Our coronation was a moon later, to give everyone a proper grieving period, and also to prepare me and my sister somewhat for the throne.

The day of our coronation was on the spring equinox, and ponies everywhere celebrated the beginning of what looked like a bright and harmonious reign of the two sisters. Celestia of course was the chiefest ruler in the land, ruling over the day, and I the second most authority, ruling the night.

It was our mentor, Starswirl the bearded, who presided over the ceremony. On Celestia, he placed a glittering gold crown and collar with a sun on it signifying her new status. On me he placed a crown and collar made of a strange but beautiful black metal with the crescent moon.

It was a happy occasion, at least as happy as it could be in light of the preceding circumstances.

During the first few years as the rulers of Equestria, things remained for the most part peaceful. There were challenges, but nothing that we couldn't handle. Celestia also gained her full alicorn powers, and her mane gained even more colors. I was not far behind her, and my mane sparkled like the night sky. These full powers couldn't have come at a better time, for not long after they arrived, a bringer of chaos, and the most difficult challenge we had faced yet, was at our face the facts. Your parents were dear friends of mine, they were also much beloved leaders, and we will all miss them dearly.

**A/N: Thank you to all of my readers. Tell me what you think of the story so far in the comments. The feedback is very****appreciated, and I read every comment. **** It is just going to get better, so stick around. ****Again, thanks for reading, and I'll update soon, so don't forget to check back! **


	3. Chapter 3 Discord Meets his Match

**A/N: First off, thank you so much to those of you who have read my story so far. And a special thanks to those who commented on, followed and liked my story. This chapter dose use a few seances from the actual show, so ... Disclaimer: I do not own My little pony, I am not part of any of the franchise, exept as a fan, and I give all credit due that is necessary to Lauran Foust, the my little pony: friendship is magic writers, and Hasbro Co. I only take credit for my own ideas and plots that I have put into this story. If for some reason, I get asked by any of the above mentioned people, or by the good people who run to remove my story, I will comply. **

"The draconicus must be stopped immediately!" I protested. "He has caused far too much damage already! Every moment he is at large is another moment the people of Equestria suffers."

"I agree with the princess," said General Typhoon, a commanding officer in the Pegasi army, and a descendant of General Hurricane. "This deranged maniac has wreaked havoc on my squadron. Most of them don't have wings anymore, and the ones that do have been rendered useless!"

"And my unicorns are casting spells of the most obscene nature against their will. This draconicus is turning Equestria upside down, literally! And this, this _fiend_ is treating this like it is all just one big, twisted game," The unicorn captain Silver Heart declared while tossing her immaculate mane in disgust.

"Yes, he must be stopped. No one is denying that. All I am saying is he is a powerful wielder of chaos, and we need to form a plan of attack before we go after him," Celestia said. She looked around the counsel room to measure the impact of her words. "If we just charge in blind we will lose for sure. If we have a plan, we at least have a chance. No pony dislikes to see all this suffering more than me, but how well can we alleviate that suffering if we are in the same position as every pony else who tried to stand up to Discord"

Suddenly I saw the foolishness of my haste. True, the people of Equestria were suffering, but Celestia was right. We needed a plan. Then I remembered something Starswirl had taught us when we were fillies. "Sister, do you remember what Starswirl told us about the everfree forest?"

She thought for a moment. "Yes, yes I remember. Do you think it will work though?"

"It is our best hope of defeating this him," I said simply.

"Princesses, might I ask as to what you are referring to?" Asked Kernel Custard, an earth pony adviser.

Celestia thought for a moment. "If you all promise that none of this information leaves this company, than I will explain." Each one in the room promised solemnly to never breathe a word of what was said.

Before Celestia spoke again, however, we both cast powerful spells to prevent any eavesdropping on top of the spells that had already been cast. This information was far too important to let fall into the wrong hands.

"Alright, then. Deep in the everfree forest, there lives a tree called the tree of harmony. This tree Is the most powerful magical object in all of Equestria. According to ancient records, It was a gift from the crystal empire to the people of Equestria soon after the Equestrian ponies met the crystal ponies for the first time. This tree is what keeps the entire everfree forest at bay. This tree has produced a kind of fruit if you will. Six gems of great power. They are called the elements of harmony. If they are used by ponies that possess certain qualities of good, they have the power to ward off evil."

"And you are sure that they are powerful enough to get rid of the draconicus?" asked Silver Hart.

"If I wield them with my sister, then yes, I am sure." Celestia said with all confidence.

"Well then, if you are sure, than we will do all we can to keep the maniac Discord from tearing apart all of Equestria while you get the gems," said General Typhoon.

A diversion plan was formulated, and then it was time to act. Any capable pony was gathered to hold off Discord the draconicus while my sister and I went to retrieve the elements of harmony.

"Sister, do you think they will be alright?" I asked Celestia as we flew to the center of the everfree forest.

"I hope so. We need to hurry though, they won't last long against Discord."

"Agreed." We quickened our flight. Suddenly, I saw something large moving on the ground. "Sister look!" I cried. No sooner had I said this than an enormous thorny vine shot through the tree line at us. We narrowly escaped its thorny grasp when it swung at us again. This time It hit Celestia square in the back and sent her tumbling towards the hard ground below.

"Tia!" I dove down faster than I ever had before, and flames began to encircle me. The heat that swirled around me tapered off into a point. the next thing I knew, there was a deafening explosion and a ring of rainbow spread rapidly, and sliced the vine in half. I caught Celestia just before she hit the trees, but it was too late to slow down enough to stop crashing through the branches, so both of us fell to the ground, hitting limb after limb along the way.

After a moment, when I had recovered from the fall somewhat, I slowly got back on my hooves, my battered and bruised body screaming at me as I did. I looked over at my sister who was now getting up herself.

"Are you alright, Luna?" She asked tenderly, despite her own pain.

She must be in sheer agony, I thought. This was so like her, though, to worry more about others, even if she was the one in greater need. I felt my eyes begin to moisten. "I should be the one asking you that. You got hit really hard by that vine."

"I'm fine, but what was that you did while you dove?"

"That explosion? I have know idea. I don't think anypony has done it before though."

She smiled at me. "We should come up with a name for it, when we get the chance."

Just then, a maniacal laugh reverberated through the trees. It seemed to be coming from every direction at once. Something told me that the owner of the laugh wasn't actually here though. It felt more like he was using Magic to project his voice to us from afar off base.

"Oh, isn't that sweet. Two sisters caring for each other. You really should be saying goodbye to Equestria as you know it though. Soon it will all belong to me, and no one will be able to stop me from doing whatever I want. The last obstacle in my way is you two princesses, but based off of what I just saw, I don't think I have much of a challenge here."

his words filled me with a fury that I hadn't felt before, and I couldn't keep the words back. "Don't get too cocky Discord. You are no match for us. We will defeat you!"

"Sister, please, just ignore him. Lets go and get the elements, then he will get what he deserves."

I took a deep breath. I knew she was right. I needed to keep in control of my emotions. I nodded, and we began galloping towards the tree of harmony.

"Taking orders from big sis, I see. What a shame, someone as talented as you living in the shadow of your older sister. I wonder if you even know that you can break free from that shadow."

I stood rigid in my tracks. The anger and malice were welling up in me so strong I could hardly contain it. I noticed that Celestia was looking at me with fearful eyes. Suddenly, I realized why. My horn was now glowing with magical aura without my conscious consent, and it was a strange darkish blue color, a bit different from the usual color of my magic.

"Luna, no, don't. He is baiting you. You mustn't succumb to him. Let's just go and get the elements.

"What are you waiting for Luna, you know how to find me. Or do you need big sis to hold your hoof for you to do anything."

The magic on my horn was building, and it was beginning to spark. I knew that I couldn't hold it back much longer if I didn't cut the spell.

"Luna," Celestia said with all tenderness. "What discord is saying isn't true. Don't listen to his lies. Just ignore him, and let's do what we came to do." I felt her words wash over me and fill me with peace. It was exactly what I needed to defuse the magic and cut the spell. I ran to my sister's side together we began again towards the tree of harmony.

Behind us arose an angry bellow, and there were dozens of vines chasing after us. We both sprinted and flew to avoid the angry everfree vines that were now under the control of Discord. Soon, we came to a cliff. As we reached the edge of the cliff, there wasn't time to stop, so we spread our wings and flew. As we became airborne, the tree of harmony came into view.

"Down there!" Celestia cried. We dove down and reached the base of the tree just in time, for just as we touched the ground, the vines retreated as if they were afraid of the tree of harmony. The lack of vines was more than welcome to us, because it gave us a chance to finally catch our breath.

As I looked up, I was completely amazed by what I saw. "The tree of harmony," I said in awe as we approached the tree. It was white with a bluish hue, and five colorful gems on some of its branches. It had the appearance similar to a crystal willow tree. At the top of the trunk, where the tree began to branch off, their was a large six pointed star. As I inspected the trunk further, I was surprised to see both Mine and Celestia's cutie marks near the base of the tree. I couldn't help but to wonder why they were there.

This was no time to sight see however, and we quickly got to work. Celestia flew up and opened the six pointed star with her magic in which lied a smaller purple gem of the same shape. She then collected that gem along with the five that were on the branches.

Having received the elements of harmony, it was finally time to face Discord. Celestia and I flew as fast as we could to the center of his "Kingdom of chaos," where he resided, fearing it may already be too late for the ponies we sent to distract Discord.

These fears were confirmed upon our arrival at his stronghold. the land was totally unrecognizable, with checkered grounds, fish swimming in the air around us, and pink clouds that rained chocolate. What was worse is there wasn't a pony in sight that had not been tampered with by his dark magic. I looked over at Celestia, and I could see that she was taking this all very hard. After all, she hated to see her people suffer even more than I did, and judging by the look in her eyes, she probably felt responsible for letting this evil into our land.

We marched up to Discord's throne that he had conjured up for himself, and it swung around to reveal discord sitting smugly in it. "Oh this is so much fun. How about a game of pin the tail on the pony," He said as he Lifted up celestia's detached tail. This surprised Her, and she turned around to see the spot her tail should be, but sure enough, it was not there.

"That is enough fun and games for you discord," Celestia said firmly as she lifted her wing that the her bag was under. She used her magic to lift the elements out of it, and we prepared to strike.

"Oh, what do you have there?" he asked in a curious, but still snobbish tone. He obviously wasn't aware of the power that we were now in possession of.

"These are the elements of harmony," celestia said as the gems began to spin around us and cloak us in magic.

"With them we will defeat you," I said. at that, Discord burst out laughing at the very idea that with these gems he could be defeated. Celestia and I touched horns and a brilliant rainbow sprung out of the gems and cascaded over the still laughing discord, and in seconds, he was turned to stone.

Almost immediately, things began to turn back to normal, and the effects of Discord's dark magic instantly reversed themselves. Ponies began to emerge out of their hiding places and cheer. Discord had been defeated, and now all was well in Equestria again, and plans were underway for a grand celebration to commemorate this great victory.

Even though discord was gone, his words still haunted me. _Doesn't she know that she can break free from that shadow? _The words echoed in my head, mocking me. I did feel like I was living in the shadow of my sister. And try as I might, I just couldn't shake those feelings, or Discord's mocking words.

That night, after I had raised the moon, I went out flying, to inspect the land. It was so different from the day, I thought. Everywhere I saw ponies sleeping, or shutting their shudders. No, it was nothing like the day. In the day, Ponies were everywhere, and they played and laughed while they slept through and shunned my beautiful night.

As I flew I got angrier and angrier. I thought of my promise I made to myself when I was a filly to show everyone the splendor of the night. I thought in despair that as of yet, I hadn't the faintest clue how to accomplish this goal. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and I flew back to the castle.

I walked the corridors, till I walked past the door to the throne room which was slightly ajar. There was light pouring out of the crack, and from it, voices drifted to my ears also. One of them I immediately recognized as celestia's. How odd, I thought. Celestia was almost never up at this hour.

As I listened, I realized that Celestia was ordering guards to all major points of Equestria to watch for any signs of danger. It suddenly hit me just how much she blamed herself for Discord's invasion. She felt that somehow this whole tragedy occurred because she wasn't vigilant or strong enough. She was trying to make it up to the people of Equestria now by making sure nothing like that ever happened again.

"Dear sister, this wasn't your fault, please don't blame yourself," I whispered, even though I knew there was no way she could possibly hear me. I then retired to my chambers, to drained to want to do anything more that night.

**A/N Thanks for reading this far. Tell me what you though of this chapter in the comments. Seriously though guys, I LOVE to hear from you! It lets me know how I am doing. I Promise to update soon, and it just might get updated a lot sooner than I was planning depending on how many people comment, favorite, or follow. I can promise you though that the next chapter is going to be so exiting!**


	4. Chapter 4 War on the Horizon

Another day was coming to a close, and it came time again for me to bring out the moon. As I walked onto the teres, I saw that Celestia was still there finishing up her duties. She turned around, only giving me a weary passing glance as she headed back into the castle.

"Celestia," I called after her before she had gone completely inside. She turned and looked at me. I could see the weariness in her face and the emptiness in her eyes that came from overworking herself. "Would you please stay a spell and watch the moon rise with me? It is going to be a gorgeous night, and the crickets are already playing a wonderful symphony."

She sighed. "I'm sorry Luna, but not tonight. It has been a long day, and there are some things I still must attend to." With that, she turned and entered the castle for the night

I sighed in return, and relented. It had been about six moons now since our battle with Discord, but things still weren't the same, especially with Celestia, and I was beginning to doubt that they ever would be. Celestia still blamed herself for the havoc discord wrought on the kingdom, and since then, she had totally thrown herself into her royal duties.

Before discords attack, we were both busy, and had many time consuming obligations, but we always found time for one another. However, since the attack, Celestia was working almost nonstop. I wondered how much longer she could keep going like this. She had been working herself to the bone for some time now. I suspected she was doing it to somehow forget about, or compensate for the guilt she felt. Celestia seemed to be unraveling just a little bit with each passing day.

I could see that she needed help, but I too needed help. Without my sister around to confide in, I had no one but the moon and stars. As much as I love them, they had never been much for talking. And just like how Celestia was slowly unraveling, I was too. It was like a rift was growing between us, and that separation was throwing us out of balance.

I lifted the moon, brought out the stars, and made sure the dreams of our citizens were safe and peaceful. Everything seemed so quiet and still that night. In fact, it was almost too quiet. That all changed though, when a couple of Pegasi guards found an unconscious, and badly injured crystal pony outside the everfree forest just before dawn.

I rushed to find Celestia as soon as I got word about the crystal pony. When I finally found her, she was with the crystal pony in a visitor sweet that had been transformed into a makeshift infirmary. The pony hadn't yet regained conscious when I arrived.

"Thank goodness you are here Luna." Celestia said in a relieved, but still anxious voice. "Something terrible must be going on in the crystal empire. Just look at her coat."

I couldn't help but to gasp a little when I did. Normally crystal pony's coats were bright and luminescent, sparkling like well, crystal when the sun hit them. her coat however, was dull and clouded, and the normally vibrant colors were now muted and dingy.

"I'm afraid you are right sister. I have heard of this happening to crystal ponies when strong negative emotions take hold, but, till now I have never seen it with my eyes."

Suddenly, the crystal pony's eyes fluttered open, and she looked panicked. she looked around the room frantically till she spotted me and my sister. "My baby! You must help my baby!" tears welled up in her eyes. "The king, he took her from me." She tried to get up, but as she tried, she winced in pain and collapsed with a groan. That was when we noticed a jagged red crystal lodged deep in her side.

Celestia gasped and turned to a guard. "Go send for a medic pony immediately!" the guard galloped off to find help. She then turned to again face the injured pony. "You can't mean that king Sombra did this, can you? By all accounts, he is a much respected and generous leader. Our parents were even invited to his coronation, just before they..." She trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence.

"Sombra is a monster," she spat, then winced in pain again. "The information you have been told about him is a lie. He is a tyrant, and an oppressor. His reign has been nothing but terror for us since he claimed the throne." she cried out a little in pain, and we saw the crystal flash black and grow a little.

I felt an icy chill run through my body as I realized there was something far more sinister going on here. "He used dark magic, didn't he," I whispered in a hoarse voice. She nodded weakly. The crystal grew again, and again she cried out in pain. When it stopped, I saw her begin to tremble from the pain and fear she felt.

Celestia stepped closer and used her magic to wrap a blanket around her. "Please, you must tell us why Sombra took your child."

Her voice was considerably weaker now, and it had a slight tremble. "He, he believes that she is the child of prophecy, the destined ruler of the empire." She looked up at us again with earnest eyes. "Promise me that you will do everything you can to save my baby, will you?"

Celestia's eyes began to moisten. "I promise."

With that, a medic pony and his assistant rushed into the room and began examining her. "Don't worry your highnesses, we will take care of her. I must insist you leave now though."

"We understand." Celestia said. We then went out of the room.

Immediately after the heavy wooden door shut I let out a frustrated groan. "I knew that snake Sombra was bad news." I hissed. My mind instantly went back to the first and only time we had met face to face. It was so very long ago now. He was just a young colt just beginning to grow into his juvenile body. He was handsome for a colt of his age, and quite brilliant, but there was something off about him. He seemed cold and unfeeling, like he had a heart of ice. He did little other than practically devour every book on anything magic, even though he had no horn or magic of his own.

I looked over at Celestia, and I was surprised to see anger crackling like fire in her purple eyes. She looked back at me and said, "I don't know how Sombra got ahold of dark magic, but he will pay for all that he has done." She said it with a fierceness that was frankly terrifying. It was so unlike my sister to get angry, especially to this degree.

"We should call the counsel immediately. This matter will only get worse if we wait."

"Agreed. If what the crystal pony said is true, we will not be able to defeat Sombra on our own."

We worked tirelessly for the next hour while we were waiting for the captions of the three pony races to arrive. We put the best blacksmiths on making Celestia and I armor incase it did come down to the an all out battle. Celestia worked hard on a letter to Sombra demanding an explanation, and if there was truth to these unjust actions against his subjects, if he did not cease, than we would have no choice but to remove him from the throne.

When all the captains had gathered, we explained the situation to them and asked them if they would support us should it come to force. After we heard out their thought and ideas in the matter, a decree was sent throughout Equestria to prepare for war with the king of the crystal empire.

**A/N Thank you everyone who has read and commented so far. Your feedback is extremely encouraging. Unfortunately, I will be unable to update in the month of march, but I promise that I will post a new chapter within the first week of April. For your patience I promise that I will make it the best chapter yet by far. Sorry I can't post more at this time, but I still hope you enjoyed this chapter. pleas still comment because I LOVE to hear from my readers. Till next time cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. the next chapter will be epic. **


	5. Chapter 5 The Crystal Empire Falls

Celestia and I stood on the frozen tundra. Just ahead of us lay the Crystal Empire. It stood tall and black like some dark fortress rising out of the ice and snow. An aura of hatred and fear seemed to pulse outward like a heartbeat from the crystal palace itself.

I took a small step closer, my armor clanking a little as I did. The wait to attack was unbearable. I hadn't necessary wanted it to come to this, but I wasn't about to sit idly by while Sombra continued with his heinous crimes.

"Patience sister. We are almost ready to attack. Sombra will not get away with all that he has done."

"I know. It's just, we have never declared war before. And we hardly even know what Sombra is capable of."

"Hopefully that won't be an issue. The elements should take care of him quickly. The only reason we have all these other ponies with us is to help break the line so we can get to Sombra. I wouldn't risk putting so many ponies in harms way if I didn't think it was necessary."

"What if Sombra is too powerful? what if the elements don't work on him?"

Celestia put her wing around me and smiled reassuringly "Don't worry dear sister. Everything will be fine. Just stay close to me, and be ready with your elements," Celestia soothed.

Just then, General Typhoon flew to us and cleared his throat. "Your Highnesses, Everypony is in position and awaiting your order to attack."

Celestia folded up her wing and nodded. "Watch yourself out there. Sombra is just as prepared for Pegasi as he is unicorns and earth ponies."

He nodded then flew back to his place at the head of the Pegasi army who were perched on top of a particularly large nimbus.

Celestia took a deep breath and we both ascended into the air. She drew her sword slowly with her magic, and as the battle cry escaped her throat, everything broke out into kaos. It was like a dam had burst. The Pegasi swooped down like lightning, and the earth ponies and unicorns charged the field with the force of a mighty clap of thunder. Seconds later, King Sombra's forces began their counter attack.

Amid the chaos, Celestia and I flew at a breakneck pace towards the crystal palace, dodging projectiles and sometimes sending them right back to the foes who launched them. When we got to the crystal place, we deliberately crashed through one of the large windows that led to the throne room and immediately began blasting rays of magic everywhere, toppling immense statues and pillars.

We stopped. No return fire.

"Show yourself!" Celestia cried out.

Suddenly there was a deep echoing laugh coming from the shadows. "I knew you couldn't stay away." Said a deep menacing voice. "You came sooner than expected. I suppose it was indeed helpful to let the subordinate slave escape. I knew your soft hearts couldn't resist her plea for help."

"Coward! Show yourself!" Celestia cried again

"We will see who the true cowards are," Sombra said ominously as a door suddenly appeared. Celestia took the lead and flew down to the door. She looked around cautiously, then opened it. There was a flash of green as she did. Her reaction surprised me, for she began mumbling and acting as if she saw something, but there was only the wall behind the door. I noticed that the whites of her eyes were now an eerie green. Suddenly she began sobbing, than screaming.

"Tia? Tia, what's going on? Tia!" I shouted while shaking her, trying to get her to respond, but nothing I did got through to her. She was trapped in a waking nightmare!

Something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I looked closer, and noticed movement in the shadows. It moves so subtly, and blended so well with the shadows, that I could only see it because of my many years as ruler of the night.

In that moment, I knew what I had to do. I cast a spell that Celestia taught me that filled the entire room with a brilliant light.

"Aaaaggggg!" A scream of pain erupted from one of the corners. For the first time, Sombra was fully visible.

Just the sight of him made my blood boil with anger. "You can not hide from me Sombra! I am the princess of the _night_. Did you really think that the shadows could conceal you from _me_?" I shouted in fury, using the traditional canterlot voice.

After a few moments he recovered somewhat from the shock of the light, though it obviously still pained him. Suddenly, he smiled a wicked smile that made my skin prickle and my hair bristle. With his blood red horn, he caused a cage of black crystal to spring up around me. The magic was so sudden that I lost hold of my spell, and the room was again plunged into darkness. From behind me I could still hear Celestia's agony.

"Release me Sombra, or pay the consequences!"

He chucked darkly. "And miss out on an opportunity like this?" He said as he walked up to my cage. He began circling the cage, and studied me in a way struck a chord of fear within me so strongly, that I couldn't suppress a shudder. "Oh, how ripe you are with resentment and fear. We can help you know. We can help you break free at last from your sister's shadow, but only if you let us. It's a shame that someone as talented and powerful as you is undermined by someone like Celestia, and not recognised for all you truly are. Without her, you could have it all. Power, adoration, and everypony would behold and know the true splendor of the night, just like you have always wanted. We can give all this to you and more."

"Enough!" I roared when I could stand it no longer. I channeled magic into my horn, and used the spell to shatter my cage. The shards went flying in all directions, and many had a trajectory straight for Sombra, but I noticed with a start that the shards passed straight through him as if he weren't even there.

Sombra, noticing my bewilderment took great pleasure in it, and laughed in satisfaction. "One of the many improvements we got when we joined forces. Improvements that could be yours as well if you joined us."

"I will never join you!"

Sombra let out another erie chuckle. "Do you even know what it is that you are turning down? Humph. No matter. You will be quite eager to join us before long." His horn glowed with a dark magical aura, and suddenly I realized with a horror where his gaze pointed.

"_Not my sister_!" I shouted with all the anger and ferocity of my soul. Without conscious thought, I leapt in front of Celestia, who was still trapped in her waking nightmare, and produced a magical shield that protected us just as a storm of crystal shards came flying towards us.

The shards battered my shield for several minutes, and I could feel the energy draining out of my body. Just when it seemed I couldn't keep up spell any longer, the crystal shards just stopped, and Sombra howled in rage. "Thief! You will die!" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black hooded figure running at a full gallop out of the throne room. I turned to get a better look. The shards were directed at the figure now. Floating in front of it was a cloudy, rough cut crystal with a tiny pink center. The figure suddenly disappeared with the crystal into thin air before any of the shards reached it. As it did, I heard the oh so familiar ringing of a certain ponies bells, and couldn't suppress a small grin.

King Sombra turned his attention to me yet again; his face contorted in anger. "You!" He bellowed. "You and that infernal sister of yours planned this, didn't you! You have no idea the kind power that crystal holds!"

"Nor do I care, so long as it is out of your possession." I snapped back.

He began firing spells at me in rapid succession. I knew the only way to defeat him was with Celestia. The question was how to free her from her awful trance? I scanned my surroundings rapidly while dodging sombras spells, searching for something, anything, to free celestia. As my gaze landed on the door, a most peculiar thought came to me. _just shut the door! _It was so obvious now! I cast the light spell to stun Sombra again momentarily, for it seemed to be the only thing that was affecting him. To my great relief, the spell worked as I had hoped it would. In a split second, I was at Celestia's side, and I slammed the door shut.

Celestia looked as if she had been woken from a nightmare when the door was closed. Her eyes flooded with relief when she saw me. "Oh Luna, it was horrible!" she sobbed. But before she could say anything more, sobra attacked again. We narrowly escaped the vile spell he aimed at us. That seemed to snap Celestia out of the memories of the awful things she had witnessed behind that wretched door.

She looked at me and nodded towards my saddle bag. Immediately I understood, and pulled out my elements as she pulled out hers. They spun around us faster and faster. Sombra could not withstand the goodness and light within them, and he began to disintegrate into shadow. Before we could finish this, he laughed wickedly as everything around us began to disappear! the magic within the crystals faltered. Everything was gone! The crystal empire, its citizens, all but the king had just vanished. The both of us were filled with rage now, and we redoubled our efforts with the elements. The frozen ground where once stood a vast city opened and slowly sucked sombra down into its depths.

"You haven't seed the last of me!" He cried out as the ground closed in on him.

Everything was silent. Our armies, who were spread about over the tundra didn't make a sound for the shock of what had just happened. The only thing remaining from that great empire, the only thing still there that left any evidence at all of the ponies who lived there, was a small crystal, pure and untouched by sombras darkness. Celestia moved to pick it up. we saw a small inscription carved onto one side. When she had read it, she looked at me with watery eyes, and, and we both wept.

Back in the free forest one week later, we held a brief, but meaningful funeral service for the crystal pony who had come to us and warned us of Sombra's treachery. Sadly, she had not survived her wounds she had sustained. We didn't even know her name, but she had sacrificed everything to save us all from his evil. Somehow, we could all tell that she was a pony of rare quality. It only seemed fitting to perform this last service for her, to provide her with that eternal rest.

"We never even got the chance to save her child like we promised" Celestia whispered to me at the close of the ceremony with tearful eyes. At the mention of this, my eyes became misty as well. That poor innocent child, lost forever in the clutches of darkness. Just the thought of it broke my heart.

Later that night, Sombra's words were all I could think about. All his talk of joining forces, his "improvements," all his talk of helping me. Not to mention all the many times he said "we". Was he just using the royal we? No, something told me that there was something more to it than that, but if he wasn't using the royal we, then who was he referring to? What did it all mean? And there was also this sinking feeling in my stomach when I thought of the moment of his defeat. It was like we weren't fully representing the elements. I had an inkling of this when we banished Discord, but not this strong. I couldn't help but wonder what that would mean for Celestia and I in the future.

**A/N a big thank you to all my readers. You give me the motivation to keep writing. Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments. Seriously, I love to hear from you guys, so don't be shy and tell me what is on your mind. Any feedback is appreciated it lets me know you are interested. Also, I am so sorry for the long wait. I wanted to update this sooner, but I didn't have much access to a computer. I hope it was worth it though. Don't forget to share this with all your friends too. Next update should be in about two weeks, so stay tuned, because things are not over yet. Oh, one last thing, I am thinking of writing a story about princess Cadence's origins. Would you like to read that? Let me know in the comments if this is something you would like me to do. One last thing to remember. These are not cannon, they are just my creativity filling in the blanks of Celestia's and Luna's past. Thanks again, and I'll see you soon!**


	6. Chapter 6 Nightmares and Shadows

I woke with a start, drenched in cold sweat. My heart pounded furiously in my chest. As the pounding slowly subsided, I looked at the window in my bed chamber, and groaned. It was only midday! This was the second week in a row I had been having these nightmares. Two straight weeks of nightmares! And each night they just got worse and worse. They were all terrifyingly realistic too.

'Why am I getting all these nightmares? I am the one who was supposed to protect other ponies from them, but now, I can't even protect myself from them,' I thought in exasperation. I looked at the mirror and winced a little as I saw my reflection. I had deep bags under my eyes, and my mane was a mess. My eyes were also red, and a little bloodshot. My eyelids were still droopy as well. I was so tired that it took me five minutes to realize that I was brushing my mane with a quill and not a comb. "I really need more sleep," I said aloud to myself. I immediately shuddered at the thought though. Almost every time I closed my eyes now, the nightmares came back. I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take.

Not wanting to go back to try to get more sleep, for fear the nightmares would return, I decided to go find Celesta. Maybe she could help.

I searched the castle for what seemed like an hour, but there was no sign of Celestia anywhere! 'Why do we have such a big castle when it is just the two of us? Honestly, why do princesses have to live in castles? Why can't a princess live in nice cottage?' finally, I found celesta meeting with the delegates from Saddle Arabia in the library. I entered the room, but not one of them noticed I was even there. And I stood there for like, 10 minutes!

Oh, poor Luna, left out again? Even your own sister didn't care enough to inform you of important visitors. A voice murmured in my head.

With those thoughts echoing in my head, I stormed off and paced the hall of hooves, thoughts were buzzing in my head about how often Celestia had ignored me, how she had so many friends, how she never wanted to spend time with me, and how she was so much better than me at everything! All the while, anger just kept building up inside me till I felt like I was going to burst. I had been terrorized by nightmares for two weeks, and Celestia wasn't even willing to lift so much as a hoof or horn to help me!

Finally, I just couldn't take it any more, and flew out of the castle as fast as I could. I smashed through numerous clouds as I flew away from the everfree forest. I didn't really care where I went, I just needed to get away.

I ended up just outside a small village some time later. I was too tired to really fly further, but I still had so much pent up anger. I settled on Cloudbusting to vent that anger, but soon I was too exhausted to do that too, so I just rested on a cloud for a bit.

As I was resting, my thought began to be clearer. 'Wait a minute, why am I so angry at Celestia' I thought. 'She has done nothing to make me feel this way, not intentionally at least.' At this thought, all the anger I felt just left me, and my tiredness returned. My eyelids suddenly became too heavy to keep open, and my body seemed to melt into the cloud I was resting on. All this combined was too much, and there was no fighting sleep anymore, so I slipped into unconsciousness

My eyes opened, and I stretched away the rest of the tiredness. 'I guess I just needed to realize that Celestia isn't doing all this on purpose. I'm such a fool for even thinking this way'

As I began to fly back to the castle however, something caught my attention. On the horizon, there was a large black cloud headed this way, and in the center, sombra's face materialized!

Utter terror swept over me, and In a panic, I sped towards the everfree forest to find Celestia. There was no way I could fight Sombra on my own. It wasn't long, however, till I bumped into Celestia.

"Ow, watch where you are flying Luna!" She said hotly.

"Celestia, sombra's back, and he's attacking!" I explained frantically.

"Why should I care? Last time we barely defeat him. I'm not fighting him again. He can have Equestria for all I'm concerned. I didn't much care for this place anyway." With that, she flew off.

"Celestia, wait! I need you! I can't do this on my own!" I cried as I flew after her. Suddenly, one of sombra's dark spells hit me, and I could no longer fly. Complete horror enveloped me as I plummeted towards the hard ground below. "Celestia!"

I shot awake, and nearly fell off the cloud I had been sleeping on. Once I had steadied myself, I looked around and was shocked to see the moon and stars already out. As the panic faded, and my thoughts began to organize themselves, I concluded that Celestia did it for me when I didn't come back in time.

Since I was already out this far, I decided to patrol the surrounding villages. As I flew, all I saw were sleeping ponies. No pony even noticed the night, and all her beauty. This caused another pang of jealousy within me. Never would this happen in the day. Everyone loved daytime, but they always shunned my night, just like they had the winter before a special filly named snowdrop invented the snowflake.

Not a waking pony was in sight, so it startled me when I heard a voice. Puzzled, I hovered for a moment, and there it was again! "Who goes there! show yourself!"

There were several voices whispering this time, then a few small and feeble shadow creatures with yellow eyes moved into my line of vision. All of a sudden, I realized I recognized these creatures! They had been hiding in every single one of my nightmares for the past two weeks!

"Who are you, and why have you been causing me nightmares!" I snarled at them. They shied away as though they were afraid.

One hesitantly took a step forward. "Princess, we are but lowly citizens of the moon. We have come to seek your help, and to warn you about your elder sister."

The moon? How can that be? And what of my older sister? She would never harm anyone without excellent reason.

"We were wrongfully banished to the moon long ago, by another Alicorn Princess by the name of Sun Cast. We have been imprisoned for centuries. Things grow more desperate every year. It was only at the winter solstice of this year that a few of us were finally able to escape.

"The summer sun celebration is only three days away, where we celebrate the longest day of the year, if what you say is true, and you have been here for half a year, than why have you come to me now?"

"We draw power from the moon, and now the moon is nearly full, and almost at its closest too. Until now, we have been unable to travel."

"You still haven't told me why you came to me, or given me your warning about my sister," I replied with a suspicious note in my voice

"Like we said, things on the moon are growing more desperate. We came to ask your help in freeing our people. In return, you would have all you ever desired. To be revered as the true princess of the night, and all would bask in the glory of the night! As for your sister, she is unknowingly dooming us to certain destruction if you do not do something. This is the first time in a millennium that the summer sun corresponds with the full moon. If the sun reaches its peak on the solstice, we will all shrivel up and die, and without us keeping the moon alive, you would soon become obsolete. However, if you eclipse the sun before that time, we will all be set free, and we can give you all that you desire.

"How do I know I can trust you? And why were you causing me all those nightmares? Don't deny that it was you, for I know it was you."

That was our only way of contacting you. We were warning you that your sister has lost her way, like Sun Cast did. She no longer cares about you, or anyone but herself. If you let her continue down this path, it is only a matter of time before she will end the night, and consequently you with it.

"Sun Cast was my mother, she was not like that! And neither is Celestia. If my mother banished you, she had to have a good reason." My horn lit up with my magical aura, to send them away if necessary. "Give me one good reason why I should trust you."

"Because your Father, Silver Moon, trusted and defended us," they said flatly.

"My father never mentioned anything about you."

"He wouldn't have. We were banished long before you were even born. Your father wanted to help us, so why don't you? You are the only thing standing in between us and total destruction. All you have to do is eclipse the sun in three days, and you will have all you ever wanted."

I bit my lip. "So, if I say yes, all I have to do is eclipse the sun before it reaches its peak in three days, and then you will help me show everypony how wonderful the night is?"

"Yes, and they will. We guarantee it."

"Then, I'll do it. I'll help you."

**(A/N) hay everyone, sorry this update took so long. I have just been so busy with school, and getting ready to graduate that I just haven't had the time or energy to write. I know this chapter isn't the greatest, but I hoped you still liked it. Let me know what you thought of this chapter. Was this a surprise to you, or did you see it coming? Let me know! Also, just thought you should know, this is the second to last chapter, so the next chapter is it. I was never planing on making this a long fan fiction. But after this next chapter, im going to take a break for the summer from writing. It's nothing against you, my wonderful readers, im just going to be working at a camp all summer, and wont have much, if any internet access. I appreciat all your suport, and please, share this story with your friends! **


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